The invention concerns a fixing means for temporarily fixing human or animal body parts, comprising at least one flexible carrier layer which is coated with at least one hardenable material, wherein the body part to be fixed may be completely or partially surrounded by the fixing means and the hardenable material may then harden, thereby stiffening the carrier layer.
Temporary fixing of body parts is often required for therapeutical reasons in the field of human and veterinary medicine. This applies e.g. for bone, cartilage, joint, capsule, and tendon injuries etc. and also for post-treatment after operations, inflammations such as periostitis and tendovaginitis etc. and for numerous other injuries or diseases.
Plaster compresses made from a textile carrier material, which is coated with plaster particles, are conventionally used as fixing means. The compresses are wet and wound around the entire body part or parts thereof to be fixed, and hardened by setting of the plaster into a rigid plaster cast. Alternatively, the plaster is separately mixed with water, the textile carrier material is soaked in the dispersion and the bandage is placed around the body part and hardened.
In addition to the relatively large weight of such plaster casts, the plaster material is disadvantageously completely rigid after setting, which can have serious consequences for the patient, in particular, when the body part must be fixed for a relatively long time for medical reasons. In particular, long fixation of body parts often causes muscular atrophy, tendon hardenings, rigid joints and the like, such that the patient often suffers after removing the plaster cast, frequently requiring physiotherapeutical help.
The same applies for plastic compresses which have been recently used, which are lighter than plaster but are also completely rigid.
There are also elastic support bandages which are used alone or in connection with a fixing means such as e.g. a splint. The fixing effect of such support bandages is often insufficient for many medical indications, at least in the acute state.
DE 198 41 562 C2 describes a fixing means for temporarily fixing human or animal body parts, in the form of a synthetic strip bandage comprising a textile soaked in artificial resin, a cushion disposed below it, a sheet disposed on top of it, and a spacer which is introduced between the textile and the sheet. The extremely complex handling of the conventional fixing means is disadvantageous, since the textile soaked with artificial resin must be stored in a liquid-tight package to prevent premature hardening of the artificial resin which would render the bandage unusable. After removal of the soaked textile, the additional layers must be connected thereto, and the bandage joined in this fashion, must be applied to the patient, with the cushion in between. Special care must thereby be taken that the artificial resin does not touch and harden on the skin of the patient, which is often injured.
EP 0 352 095 B1 also discloses an orthopaedic fixing means which comprises a flexible substrate, in particular, from woven or non-woven material, which is impregnated on both surfaces with a hardenable liquid compound. Both surfaces of the impregnated substrate are covered by a material which is impermeable to the liquid compound but permeable to water. The hardenable liquid compound is hardened only by water. For this reason hardening only in certain areas or variation of the rigidity of the hardened fixing means in certain areas, which may be desired for medical reasons and/or to increase the comfort of the patient, is not possible or only to a limited degree.
WO 02/13735 A2 describes a hardenable, adhesive splint which comprises a hardenable resin, wherein hardenable resins may be provided which can be hardened i.a. using heat, electromagnetic radiation, UV and IR radiation. The splint which is formed from several components is assembled by the user and directly glued onto the skin of the patient.
DE 199 62 747 A1 discloses a further fixing means in the form of an orthopaedic bandage which has a flexible carrier material, in particular, in textile form, and a thermoplastic adhesive mass. Prior to use, the latter is transformed into a plastic state through heating, and solidified in correspondence with the contour of the body part to be fixed. This also requires more or less time-consuming pretreatment due to preheating, and precise hardening in certain areas is practically impossible.
It is the underlying purpose of the invention to further develop a simple and inexpensive fixing means for temporarily fixing human or animal body parts, thereby avoiding the above-mentioned disadvantages in such a manner that its rigidity can be varied in areas in accordance with the individual requirements.